Examination of birth preferences with fear of childbirth and traumatic birth perceptions of pregnant women

This research was conducted to determine the fear of childbirth, traumatic birth perception levels and birth mode preferences of pregnant women and to examine the relationship between these factors. In this descriptive study, she was found to be pregnant in the 28-40th century. During the week, 312 primiparous and multiparous pregnant women who were healthy, between the ages of 18-35 and had not previously given birth by cesarean section participated. The data of this study, which was conducted in Mersin University Hospital Obstetrics outpatient clinic between February 2023 and June 2023, were collected with Personal Information Form, Wijma Birth Expectancy/Experience Scale A Version and Traumatic Birth Perception Scale. In the analysis of the data, frequency descriptive statistics, Student's t test, One Way ANOVA and Tukey test and Pearon correlation coefficient from multiple comparison tests were used. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. It was determined that the mean score of the pregnant women from the Wijma Birth Expectation/Experience Scale Version A was 61.37±32.67, the minimum score was 9, and the maximum score was 154. A statistically significant relationship was found between age, income status, preference of delivery style and number of pregnancies of the pregnants and the mean score they received from the Wijma Birth Expectancy/Experience Scale A version (p<0.05). It was determined that the mean score of the pregnant women from the Traumatic Birth Perception Scale was 56.74±29.06, the minimum score was 2, and maximum score was 130. A statistically significant relationship was found between age, education level, gravida status, number of living children, status of receiving education in preparation for birth and preference of delivery style of pregnants and the mean score they received from the Traumatic Birth Perception Scale (p<0.05). A highly significant positive correlation was found between the scores of the pregnant women from the Wijma Birth Expectation/Experience Scale Version A and the Traumatic Birth Perception Scale (r=0.771, p<0.001). As a result of the research, it was determined that the levels of fear of birth and traumatic birth perception of pregnant women were moderate, and as the levels of traumatic birth perception of pregnant women increased, their fear of birth increased. It was found that the pregnancies who were younger, had low income, preferred cesarean delivery and had a low number of pregnancies had high fears of birth. It was determined that the perception of traumatic birth was high in pregnant women who were younger, graduated from secondary school, became pregnant for the first time, did not receive childbirth preparation training, preferred cesarean delivery, and had a low number of living children. It is recommended that women's health nurses evaluate the fear of childbirth and traumatic birth perception levels of prenatal pregnant women and take a more active role in prenatal care and prenatal education.